Line #43 Main/TheTunguskaEvent


1	[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/tunguska.jpg]]
2	[[caption-width-right:350:A 1929 photo of trees knocked down by the explosion, remaining over two decades after the event.]]
3
4	->''"Perhaps the earliest widely-held theory for the Tunguska explosion was that the world was about to end. As the minutes passed, this theory was dropped in favour of other, less final theories, until today one is hard-pressed to find anyone who truly believes the world ended on the morning of 30 June 1908..."''
5	-->-- '''Kevin Zahnle''', ''Nature'', "Leaving No Stone Unturned"
6
7	The Tunguska Event was a massive explosion which took place on 30 June, 1908 (or 17 June, if you're going by the Julian calendar still in use in Russia at the time). Due to the mystery and scientific intrigue surrounding the explosion, the Tunguska Event has become widely depicted in popular culture.
8
9	Shortly after 7 a.m., residents of the hills northwest of Lake Baikal in Siberia saw a light in the sky, one described as being "nearly as bright as the sun". This was followed by a flash of light, a sound like artillery fire, and a shockwave strong enough to shatter windows and knock people off their feet. Something had [[StuffBlowingUp exploded]] in the forest near the Podkamennaya Tunguska River, later calculated to have released energy equivalent to 10-15 megatons of TNT (though [[http://www.sandia.gov/news/resources/releases/2007/asteroid.html some recent experiments]] indicate that the blast may have actually been smaller, at "only" 3-5 megatons).
10
11	In 1921, Russian mineralogist Leonid Kulik concluded from eyewitness accounts that the explosion was from a meteorite impact. He led an expedition to the Tunguska region, hoping to find and salvage the meteor itself. Instead, they found a 50 kilometer-wide region of scorched and felled trees, with no impact crater to be found. Subsequent investigations have attempted to find explanations for the disappearance of the meteor -- the closest effort to finding it came in 2013, when a team of researchers researched micro-samples of minerals from the center of the affected area (each less than a millimeter across), determining that they may been of extraterrestrial origin. A small lake ([[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lake_Cheko Cheko]]) was suggested to have originated from the impact [[note]]It's absent from 19th century maps (albeit rather inaccurate ones) and appears only from 1929 onward, it has unusual shape, and it's only 8 km from the epicenter[[/note]], but analysis of sediment samples from the lakebed has ruled out this theory[[note]]The lake had existed for centuries prior to the blast, and was only missing from maps due to the region being mostly unexplored wilderness[[/note]].
12
13	Today, most scientists agree that the Tunguska Event was caused by a meteoroid exploding in mid-air rather than directly impacting. While such air-bursts are common at higher altitudes, they are rarely close enough to Earth's surface to cause damage. There's some debate over whether the exploding space rock came from a comet (which would explain lack of a solid meteorite body) or an asteroid. Whichever the case, and even if there technically wasn't a true "impact" from [[ColonyDrop a massive space rock]], the Tunguska Event is identified as the largest impact event in human recorded history on Earth (though much larger impacts have occurred in prehistoric times) -- had the location been different, the explosion of its sheer size could have wiped out a large metropolitan area.
14
15	Other less credible, but more interesting, theories suggest that the event was caused by: a deuterium-rich meteorite causing an all-natural thermonuclear explosion; a chunk of antimatter; a miniature black hole passing through the Earth; an alien spacecraft crashing or discharging some kind of superweapon; psychic experiments or magic rituals gone wrong; or a test run of UsefulNotes/NikolaTesla's DeathRay. It has also been noted that recent explosions in Siberia, leaving impressive craters and downed trees, are due to pockets of methane being released from defrosting tundra; global warming is speeding up this process and creating another interesting consequence. It has been speculated the Tunguska Event might have been due to a really big build-up of subterranean methane that found its way out.
16
17	On February 15, 2013, a 50 foot, 7000 ton meteor airburst over the Chelyabinsk Oblast, releasing the equivalent of 300 kilotons of TNT and [[http://www.nytimes.com/2013/02/16/world/europe/meteorite-fragments-are-said-to-rain-down-on-siberia.html injuring 1,200 people]]. Thanks to the many Russian motorists who use dashcams (to settle traffic and speeding disputes), the Chelyabinsk Superbolide was no mystery, and coincidentally was the largest explosion from an extraterrestrial source since the Tunguska Event.
18
19	As shown by the examples below, the Tunguska Event has become a go-to "mysterious explosion" for any fiction writer who wants to put a sprinkling of real-world history on their work.
20
21	SubTrope of HistoricalInJoke and RealEventFictionalCause, and one of the StockUnsolvedMysteries. Compare RoswellThatEndsWell and CameFromTheSky.
22	----
23	!!Examples
24
25	[[foldercontrol]]
26
27	[[folder:Anime & Manga]]
28	* In ''Anime/GoShogun'' the [[AppliedPhlebotinum power source]] for the good guys' mecha and teleporting base is the piece of Tunguska meteorite.
29	[[/folder]]
30
31	[[folder:Comic Books]]
32	* ComicBook/AtomicRobo ascribes to the "Tesla did it" school of thought, naturally - specifically, he used Wardenclyffe Tower to "pinch" reality in order to stop an EldritchAbomination from manifesting. It only slowed it down.
33	* ''ComicBook/TheDarkness V1'' #12. The Tunguska incident is caused by a battle between the Angelus and the Darkness.
34	* In Creator/DCComics it was the origin of Fireball of the Young Allies, Mr Meteor of the ComicBook/{{Shadowpact}} (1908 version) and Red Star of the Comicbook/TeenTitans.
35	* The ''Magazine/DoctorWhoMagazine'' comic strip "Follow That TARDIS!" has the Doctor being forced at gunpoint to grab a LeeroyJenkins and his CloserToEarth bookworm of a brother, since the former wants revenge on [[Recap/DoctorWhoS2E9TheTimeMeddler the Meddling Monk]] for [[SeriousBusiness damaging his car and not paying him]]. When they end up in Tunguska, the hothead decides to clear some space, but instead of a grenade, [[TooDumbToLive he throws a mini-nuke]]. The three barely escape, while the Monk's TARDIS ends up damaged.
36	* The big PointOfDivergence in ''ComicBook/EastOfWest'' happens when, through unknown circumstances, the meteor that caused the Tunguska Event in real life lands in America instead, helping end a dragged-out American Civil War. A character even lampshades that [[AllohistoricalAllusion it feels like the meteor was supposed to hit someplace else]].
37	* In ''ComicBook/{{Hellboy}}'': "Dr Carp's Experiment", it's mentioned in passing that The Heliopic Brotherhood of Ra, an occult society, was believed to be responsible for the explosion.
38	* Marvel:
39	** The ComicBook/UltimateMarvel ''ComicBook/UltimateGalactusTrilogy'' miniseries revealed in the first mini (''Ultimate Nightmare'') that the Tunguska Incident was caused by the Vision crash-landing to Earth. He (she?) was quickly taken into Russian custody and dissected so its OrganicTechnology could be used to kickstart a SuperSoldier project, which means no one learned about Gah Lak Tus until about a year before he was supposed to eat Earth. In this universe the Tunguska explosion was said to have happened in 1904 instead of 1908, and WordOfGod is that the date was moved to make it a century before the release date of the comic in 2004. Creator/WarrenEllis, as a rule, does his research.
40	** In the main 616 continuity, as part of the ''ComicBook/OriginalSin'' crossover, Mighty Avengers vol. 2 #12 reveals the Tunguska Event was part of an ancient cabal of powerful immortal rulers using a magic ceremony to create a powerful animal/human creature (a character called 'The Bear', introduced in an earlier "[[{{retcon}} flashback]]" Iron Man).
41	** This [[DependingOnTheWriter contradicts other throwaway references]] to the cause of the event, like Kang redirecting a direct blast from Black Bolt there, or Doom, Iron Man and Johnny Storm having a fight with him on his time machine. If it's not an allohistorical reference, chances are that huge explosions mixed with time travelers will be the cause. The marvel wiki has a [[https://marvel.fandom.com/wiki/Tunguska_Event short list]] of explanations.
42	* In ''ComicBook/PaperinikNewAdventures'' the Tunguska Event is caused by a meteorite made by Unobtainium. The Russian army fights the [[PlanetLooters Evronians]] over it, but [[spoiler:it had already been taken away by locals.]]
43	* A ''[[Franchise/ThePinkPanther Pink Panther]]'' comic book claims it was produced by a time-travel hole which happened to open right in the middle of a nuclear rocket launch in the far future.
44	* The short-lived "Shadowline" imprint also had the explosion as a result of a super-powered battle.
45	[[/folder]]
46
47	[[folder:Fanfiction]]
48	* ''[[https://www.fanfiction.net/s/12880573/1/Basilisk-Go-Boom Basilisk Go Boom]]'' claims it was due to overuse of a time turner.
49	* In ''[[https://archiveofourown.org/works/44128621/chapters/112054126#workskin Harry Potter and the Miniature Magical World]]'' Dumbledore claims it was due to the escape of three Omicon Theta-Five entities from the Department of Mysteries' detention center.
50	* ''[[https://www.fanfiction.net/s/8257400/11/Harry-Potter-and-the-Power-of-Paranoia Harry Potter and the Power of Paranoia]]'' states that the "city" of Tunguska was destroyed by the ICW for multiple violations of the Statute of Secrecy.
51	* In ''[[https://www.fanfiction.net/s/8351441/1/Harry-Potter-and-Death-s-Bargain Harry Potter and Death's Bargain]]'' Harry's Grim Reaper says that it was the result of an angel and a demon talking to each other.
52	* ''Fanfic/TheNewAdventuresOfInvaderZim'': Given the location of where it's found, Dib and his friends believe that the event was caused by the Meekrob cargo pod containing [[WeaponOfMassDestruction Project Domination]] crashing into the Earth and burying itself.
53	* In ''[[https://www.fanfiction.net/s/12086401/1/One-Day-in-King-s-Row One Day in King's Row]]'', [[VideoGame/{{Overwatch}} Tracer]] notes that having Level 5 clearance, along with allowing her to know the true cause of the [[RobotWar Omnic Crisis]] and about the existence of the [[Franchise/HarryPotter Wizarding World]], she also knows the real cause of both the Tunguska Event of 1908 ''and'' the Tunguska Event of 2023. All she says it that it turns out that aliens weren't little green men.
54	* In ''Fanfic/SayItThrice'', a crossover between ''Film/{{Beetlejuice}}'' and ''WesternAnimation/DannyPhantom'', the event was caused by a ghost in possession of the [[ArtifactofDoom Gem of Osiris]].
55	* In the background material of ''FanFic/SonicXDarkChaos'', it was the result of a disabled Angel scout ship activating its Warpspace drive in Earth's atmosphere just before it crashed.
56	* ''[[https://www.fanfiction.net/s/10037020/14/The-Unwilling-Participant The Unwilling Participant]]'' claims it was the result of a bungled attempt to summon Yog-Sothoth.
57	[[/folder]]
58
59	[[folder:Films -- Live-Action]]
60	* Mentioned in ''Film/{{Ghostbusters 1984}}'' with an incorrect year:
61	-->'''Dr Ray Stantz:''' You have been a participant in the biggest interdimensional cross rip since the Tunguska blast of 1909!
62	** ''Film/GhostbustersAfterlife'' implies it was caused by [[spoiler:Gozer]] as the correct year of 1908 is seen alongside the years of other historical disasters she was thought to have caused.
63	* In the extended cut of ''Film/Hellboy2004'', the event was caused by a 20-ton rock, sent to Earth by the [[EldritchAbomination Ogdru Jahad]]. This rock is vital for opening the [[{{Hellgate}} portal to the Void]].
64	* ''Film/K20LegendOfTheMask'' follows on from the idea that UsefulNotes/NikolaTesla caused the event during his experiments to broadcast electricity. A Japanese oil magnate was one of the surveyors of the Tunguska site in the AlternateHistory and he invested in Tesla's project. By the start of the movie there are devices resembling the [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wardenclyffe_Tower Wardenclyffe Tower]] that can accurately transmit electricity to power devices or send [[LightningGun lighting-like blasts]].
65	* According to the ExpandedUniverse of the ''Film/{{Transformers\|FilmSeries}}'' movies, the event was caused by Shockwave's crash-landing on Earth.
66	* In the backstory to ''Film/{{Tomorrowland}}'', [[AllThereInTheManual presented in the book]] ''Before Tomorrowland'', the Tunguska Event was an early test conducted by Nikola Tesla and the Plus Ultra organization to open a rift into an alternate dimension via the atomic bomb. The devastating power of the Tunguska bomb led to the organization looking to alternate technologies. The Manhattan Project as it turns out was an effort to tone down Plus Ultra's original designs into weapons that wouldn't blow big holes in the fabric of reality.
67	[[/folder]]
68
69	[[folder:Literature]]
70	* There is a short story that goes for two-in-one: the Tunguska Event is caused by the explosion of an alien starship... which was caused by said ship getting hit by a meteorite. For bonus points, Rasputin is involved.
71	* In Creator/ThomasPynchon's ''Against the Day'', the event is implied to be connected to Tesla's experiments and/or something invading from AnotherDimension and/or a monster unleashed from BeneathTheEarth; it's all [[MindScrew a bit confusing]].
72	* In ''Literature/AliceGirlFromTheFuture'', it is stated that the first attempt in time travel involved a kitten who became the Tunguska Event. A later novel, though, has two researchers traveling to see it and finding it a natural phenomenon.
73	* In Donald R. Benson's novel ''And Having Writ'' the Tunguska event was caused by an alien spaceship crashing. The novel takes place in an alternate timeline where the crew manage to land safely and then spend the next few decades changing history as a side-effect of encouraging the creation of technology that can repair their ship.
74	* ''Literature/KnownSpace'': The theory that a quantum black hole was the cause of the event is near-proven in "The Borderland of Sol" after such were found by extrapolating possible orbits from the time and location of the event.
75	* Creator/SpiderRobinson's ''Literature/CallahansCrosstimeSaloon'' proposed that Tesla's DeathRay caused the event.
76	* In Kage Baker's ''Literature/TheCompanyNovels'', a defective Immortal claims responsibility for the event, saying that he found that using time travel in a manner other than the series' standard StableTimeLoop method will punch holes in the fabric of reality. He also claims to have wiped out the dinosaurs. It isn't clear if this is the truth, though; he might've been lying, or just completely insane.
77	* In the ''Literature/PastDoctorAdventures'' novel ''Wages of Sin'', the Third Doctor takes his companions Liz and Jo back in time to watch the Tunguska event; they become entangled in contemporary Russian politics, but there's nothing weird about the event itself, which is just a meteoroid -- as far as they know. In the ''Literature/DoctorWhoNewAdventures'' novel ''Birthright'', featuring the Seventh Doctor, the event turns out to have been caused by a TARDIS exploding.
78	* ''Literature/TheDresdenFiles'': Ebenezar [=McCoy=] [[HistoricalInJoke takes credit for this]] in one book. He probably [[ColonyDrop used an actual asteroid, too]]: doing so is [[PersonOfMassDestruction within his capacity]].[[note]]In one book he kills a Red Court vampire lord by deorbiting an old Soviet satellite onto him.[[/note]]
79	** A later book reveals that he ''was killing a dragon with it''. Not the Western winged lizard kind, either - the Eastern ''PhysicalGod kind''.
80	* In Creator/DavidBrin's ''Earth'', the event was a very small black hole falling into the earth. Which may or may not have been artificially created by aliens to destroy the world before humanity could become a threat. The black hole is more of a MacGuffin, in that it's never resolved where it came from.
81	* In the ''ComicBook/{{Superman}}''/''ComicBook/{{Batman}}'' novel ''Enemies and Allies'', Lex Luthor's Russian allies have a large kryptonite-bearing meteorite implied to be the Tunguska rock. The radiation has horribly deformed the trees and wildlife around the area, and does the same to humans.
82	* In ''Literature/TheGrimnoirChronicles'' by Creator/LarryCorreia, set in the early 1930s, a Tesla superweapon caused the Tunguska Event. Preventing the weapon from being used again is central to the plot of ''Hard Magic'', the first book in the series.
83	* In Creator/JacekDukaj's science-fiction/alternative history novel ''[[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ice_(Dukaj_novel) Ice]]'' (polish: "Lód"), the Tunguska Event caused dramatic changes in the laws of physics.
84	* In Julian May's ''Literature/{{Intervention}}'', the crash landing alien spaceship version is used. When real aliens visit the site on the centennial of the event, it is widely believed to be a hoax.
85	* In the ''Literature/JoeLedger'' series novel ''Extinction Machine'', the Tunguska Event was caused by an alien spacecraft crash landing. The resulting debris is highly sought after by certain groups.
86	* Alexander Kazantsev published a sci-fi story in 1946 where the explosion was a nuclear-powered Martian spacecraft blowing up. This was likely the source of the RealLife theory that aliens were involved in the explosion. In fact, some entirely fictional elements of the story were later mistaken for things that actually happened around the event, in particular the claim that local residents experienced illness suspiciously similar to acute radiation poisoning.
87	* In ''Literature/SecretCity'' the event is never called by name, but explosion was caused by The Lesser Poseidon's Throne, humans' Source of mana, going critical after removal of controlling artefact. This was used to cover tracks of experimental world-hopping ritual from the Great Houses. Throne was presumed to be destroyed in the event, but actually it flew around a bit and then crash-landed, embedding itself in some random hill to be found by Soviets later.
88	* In Creator/StanislawLem's ''Literature/TheStarDiaries'', time-traveling scientists try to straighten the Earth's axial tilt to make the climate more even. However, they screw it up, the machine they use explodes, and a piece of debris causes the Tunguska Event.
89	** And in ''Literature/TheAstronauts'' it's an alien spaceship that crashed, carrying some cultural artifacts.
90	* In other Polish book, this time adventure ''[[Literature/TomekWilmowskiSeries Tomek's Secret Expedition]]'' by Alfred Szklarski, the Tunguska event saves the skins of the main characters. While they are almost overwhelmed by bandits chasing after them, the event similar to meteorite impact happens nearby. The heroes are just as awestruck as their pursuers, but manage to shake out of the stupor fast enough to successfully run away, while their pursuers flee in panic. The footnote (something the ''[[{{Edutainment}} Tomek]]'' [[{{Edutainment}} series is famous for]]) explains what Tunguska event was.
91	* In ''Literature/{{Leviathan}}'', UsefulNotes/NikolaTesla caused the explosion by using his DeathRay, Goliath. He wishes to use this weapon to stop [[UsefulNotes/WorldWarI the ongoing war.]] [[spoiler:{{Subverted}} in that it doesn't work. The explosion at Tunguska was actually caused by an asteroid like in real life, and Tesla was only testing Goliath at the same time and ended up [[CorrelationCausationGag believing that he caused the explosion]].]]
92	* ''Literature/MissPeregrinesHomeForPeculiarChildren'' has the explosion as the result of a failed immortality ritual which created the Hollowgast, a group that serves as the main antagonists of the series.
93	* The Creator/StrugatskyBrothers in their ''Monday Begins on Saturday'' had one character put forth a theory that the event was caused by the crash-landing of an alien spacecraft that moved ''backwards in time'' (compared to our own). To simplify it, from our perspective, the event was caused by the spacecraft ''taking off'', so there was nothing there ''afterward''. Instead, the humans had to check what was located on that spot ''before'' the event (i.e. in the alien's future).
94	* In ''Literature/TheMysteryOfUrulgan'' by Creator/KirBulychev, Professor Mueller alludes to the Tunguska Event when he is talking with Veronica about meteors.
95	* William Barton and Michael Capobianco wrote the 1995 ''Literature/SherlockHolmes'' short story "The Adventure of the Russian Grave" in which Professor Moriarty's only canonical mathematical paper, ''[[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Dynamics_of_an_Asteroid The Dynamics Of An Asteroid]]'', is a BatmanGambit designed to engage Holmes' love of mysteries. It is a trap intended to bring him and Watson to Tunguska on that day at that time. When Holmes realizes this, he and Watson run for their lives, barely making it out alive.
96	* In the Franchise/StarTrek novel ''Prime Directive'', the Tunguska explosion is caused by a meteor impact, but the meteor's trajectory is altered by a Vulcan exploration ship (which is observing the Earth) to prevent it from striking Western Europe and wiping out most of human civilization.
97	* In ''Literature/WhomGodsWouldDestroy'', the Tunguska event was the interrupted impact of the Star Wormwood, from the Biblical Book of Revelation.
98	* Also occurs in the novels ''Titan, Wizard and Demon'', where it was an experiment by the habitat to see if it could hit earth with a rock should it need to destroy us.
99	[[/folder]]
100
101	[[folder:Live-Action TV]]
102	* Footage of the 2013 Tunguska Event is used in ''Series/BrainDead2016'' to represent footage of the meteor full of space bugs crashing to Earth.
103	* Alluded to in the ''Series/BuffyTheVampireSlayer'' episode "Listening To Fear", in which it's implied to have been an earlier case of a space-born demon landing on Earth. Like Ray in ''Ghostbusters'', Willow gets the date wrong, stating it occurred in 1917.
104	* ''Series/DoctorWho'': In "[[Recap/DoctorWhoS27E6Dalek Dalek]]", Henry van Statten, scavenger of alien tech, claims to have found the cure for the common cold in "the Russian crater".
105	* ''Series/EerieIndiana'': In "The Loyal Order of Corn", Ned tells Marshall, Simon and Dash X that he is an alien explorer who arrived in Siberia in 1908 through a tachyon portal.
106	* A possible reference in ''Series/{{Grimm}}'', with one of the films in Nick's trailer full of Wesen information being labeled "Tunguska".
107	* ''Series/TheSarahJaneAdventures'': The Tunguska Scroll from "[[Recap/TheSarahJaneAdventuresS2E11E12EnemyOfTheBane Enemy of the Bane]]" was recovered from the site of the Tunguska Event, unsurprisingly.
108	* ''Series/SevenDays'': While the American TimeTravel program got their Element 115 from the {{Roswell\|ThatEndsWell}} crash, the Soviet program got theirs from a crash in Siberia.
109	* Sulu mentions the Tunguska Event in the ''Series/StarTrekTheOriginalSeries'' episode "[[Recap/StarTrekS3E17ThatWhichSurvives That Which Survives]]" as a comparison to a similar event that befalls the crew. Kirk responds, [[IfIWantedXIWouldY "If I wanted]] [[GloriousMotherRussia a Russian history lesson]], I would have brought [[FunnyForeigner Mr. Chekov."]]
110	* According to ''Series/TheTick2016'', the Tunguska event was an alien object exploding just above Earth's surface, which created all the superheroes, including the first one, Superion, who emerged from the explosion's center.
111	* The ColdOpening in ''Series/UltramanOrb'' [[spoiler: was later revealed in Ep. 16 to be Orb causing an equivalent event in [[NoCommunitiesWereHarmed "Rusalka"]], from a runaway explosion caused by the [[FinishingMove Superior Caliber]] and Maga-Zetton's defeat.]]
112	* The "[[Recap/TheXFilesS04E08Tunguska Tunguska]]" episode of ''Series/TheXFiles'' takes place in the region and it was implied (if not outright stated) to be a meteor strike, the meteor in question containing some of the [[PuppeteerParasite Black Oil]], which was used by the Russian counterpart to [[TheConspiracy the Syndicate]].
113	[[/folder]]
114
115	[[folder:Music]]
116	* In the music video for Music/{{Metallica}}'s "All Nightmare Long", the Tunguska Event is the source of alien spores that reanimate the dead, allowing the USSR to conquer America via a [=mini-=]ZombieApocalypse.
117	[[/folder]]
118
119	[[folder:Podcast]]
120	* Referenced in ''Podcast/RevivalADungeonsAndDragonsRealplayPodcast'' when [[spoiler: Jeron explodes from Illithids trying to come to The Rock through an interplanar rift and also from working with multiple versions of himself pulled though time]]
121	* The ''Podcast/TwilightHistories'' episode “The Paris Event” has the asteroid nudged slightly off-course and strike Paris instead.
122	[[/folder]]
123
124	[[folder:Tabletop Games]]
125	* The ''TabletopGame/CallOfCthulhu'' main rules hint that the event may have been caused by someone summoning Azathoth to the area.
126	** The adventure ''The Spawn of Azathoth'' specifies: It was caused by a Seed of Azathoth entering the Earth's atmosphere. The Seed was thrown off by the Spawn of Azathoth (AKA Nemesis) circling the Solar System outside the orbit of Pluto.
127	** The devastation caused by the [[{{Ghostapo}} Karotechia]] from ''TabletopGame/DeltaGreen'' trying to summon Azathoth at Naudabaum castle is likened to Tunguska, suggesting the two events have similar causes.
128	** ''TabletopGame/EldritchHorror'' has its own version of the Seed of Azathoth adventure. It's also one of the wilderness sites for expeditions.
129	* In the 5th edition ''TabletopGame/{{Champions}}'' supplement "The Mystic World", we learn that a cabal of evil sorcerors/ritual magicians teamed up to drop the magical equivalent of a tactical nuke onto Earth's Archmage. This involved opening a portal to {{Hell}} into his home while he was working with an artifact that used Heavenly fire. He lived in the Tunguska region.
130	* In TabletopGame/ExTempore'', it was caused by an experiment by the Strigae.
131	* In "TabletopGame/FreedomCity" universe of ''TabletopGame/MutantsAndMasterminds'', this event could be a transdimensional tear that allowed the Centurion to cross into the FC universe from his own.
132	* In the ''TabletopGame/{{GURPS}}'' worldbook ''Black Ops'', the event was caused by the spaceship of TheGreys crashing.
133	** ''Infinite Worlds'' claims that it was caused by a sliver of a black hole, [[FridgeLogic don't think too hard about that one]].
134	* In ''TabletopGame/NecessaryEvil'' for Savage Worlds the event is caused by a Protean speceship.
135	* It's referenced in two different ''TabletopGame/NewWorldOfDarkness'' books, with two (possibly) different causes:
136	** A sidebar in one of the books for ''TabletopGame/PrometheanTheCreated'' describes a Promethean obsessed with studying the mysteries of the Divine Fire who attempted to summon an arch-''qashmal'', a being made up of the very energy that powers the universe. Those who last talked to him saw him in the vicinity of Tunguska in 1908...
137	** In the ''TabletopGame/HunterTheVigil'' sourcebook ''Witch Finders'', the Knights of St. George blame the Tunguska Event on one of their number failing to prevent the summoning of a "faceless angel", one of the EldritchAbomination entities their order worships/wards off. Who's right is, as always, up to the Storyteller. It could easily be both, whether because the Promethean got the wrong number, because the ''qashmal'''s presence itself attracted the Angel's attention, or the ''qashmallim'' and Faceless Angels are the same creatures...
138	* In the TabletopGame/OldWorldOfDarkness, The Tunguska Event was the climax of an epic battle between a cabal of [[TabletopGame/MageTheAscension Mages]] and an ancient dragon.
139	** Unless you're the Void Engineers, of course, in which case it's the result of the Engineers finding an alien ship somewhere in the Deep Universe and [[MikeNelsonDestroyerOfWorlds accidentally setting off its main weapon]]. Cue mini-singularity landing in Russia.
140	* One of the old TabletopGame/{{Shadowrun}} gamebooks contains a shadowtalk reference, apparently from one of the immortal elves, which claims they were actually trying to hit a ''comet'' with the asteroid that struck Tunguska. Given the conspiracy-theory-obsessed tone of the conversation, this was ''probably'' a joke, if not a deliberate Lampshading of early Shadowrun writers' own tendency to trace far too much of real-world past history to the meddlings of immortal elves and/or dragons.
141	[[/folder]]
142
143	[[folder:Video Games]]
144	* ''VideoGame/AnnoMutationem'': The Tunguska Event is mentioned in the Tunguska Missile's FlavorText, where the explosion was apparently caused by a salvo of the prototype's missiles, which was then found by some staff from a Tithonus Group lab.
145	* This popped up at the end of ''VideoGame/AssassinsCreedI'', when you get into the files of the AncientConspiracy, it lists a whole bunch of famed artifacts and strange incidents that are connected to, stolen by, or caused by said Conspiracy. The list includes the Tunguska Incident, which was apparently the explosion of a covert laboratory under their control, conducting research on some kind of alien artifact - which, predictably, blew up in their face.
146	** The Truth segments in the sequel confirm that it was the destruction of [[spoiler:Piece of Eden 34, the Staff]] with Nikola Tesla's [[DeathRay Thought Bomb]] that caused the event. Expanded on even further in the comic book spinoff, ''ComicBook/AssassinsCreedTheFall'', where it turns out [[spoiler:the protagonist's ancestor was an Assassin sent to ''retrieve'' the Staff from a Templar lab. It's not clear who, if anyone, actually wanted it destroyed -- if it wasn't simply caught in the explosion because they didn't clear the lab in time]].
147	* In ''VideoGame/AzurLane'', a date and a set of coordinates mentioned in a document in Operation Siren alludes to the event. [[spoiler:It's not only the origin of the Wisdom Cubes that would later create the Kansen, but it's also implied to be the origin of the Leviathans, the GreaterScopeVillain that made the Sirens resort to using {{Alternate Timeline}}s to foster the development of the Azur Lane organization.]]
148	* From what players have [[JigsawPuzzlePlot pieced together]] using clues left in the levels, the VideoGame/NaziZombies problem from the bonus stages of ''VideoGame/CallOfDutyWorldAtWar'' seem related to a meteor impact in Tunguska.
149	* One of ''VideoGame/{{Civilization}} 4'''s modern-era {{random event}}s is a mysterious explosion that takes out an arctic forest in your territory in a recreation of the Tunguska Event. It's quite useful, since your scientists are better motivated to explore space and prevent similar meteorite impacts, boosting your production speed of the Apollo Program and laboratories.
150	* In ''VideoGame/{{Crysis}}'' during a spied on conversation between a scientist and a Korean general, pieces of alien artifacts are mentioned to have been found in Tunguska. In the sequel it's confirmed that Jacob Hargreave stole the Nanosuit technology from the aliens (apparently a scouting troop) during or after the Tunguska event. The last piece in the Nanosuit 2's chemical processes is called [[MeaningfulName the Tunguska Iteration]].
151	* In ''VideoGame/DestroyAllHumans 2'', the Tunguska Event turned out to be [[spoiler:a crashed [[GiantEnemyCrab Blisk]] ship]].
152	* ''VideoGame/EmpiresDawnOfTheModernWorld'': The Russian civilization has a late game classified project called Tunguska Meteor that allows them to call down a meteor to devastate enemy units.
153	* ''VideoGame/FateGrandOrder'': A major event from the ''Cosmos In The Lostbelt'' arc involves Chaldea heading to Tunguska to battle and defeat recurring antagonist Koyanskaya. [[spoiler:The event reveals that Koyanskaya is a nature spirit [[AnthropomorphicPersonification created from the dying lamentations/prayers of the animals killed during the Tunguska Event and the raw power of meteor explosion itself]]. As many animals were driven to Tunguska because of hunting from humans, they blamed the humans for the event, and thus Koyanskaya's initial stated goal is to become a Beast of Humanity to carry their vengeance on all humans. However, as she intellectually knows it was just a natural disaster, the compulsion to actively pursue mankind's extinction doesn't exist within her and she's actually far more interested in using those Beast powers to create a world completely free and separate from human influence]].
154	* ''VideoGame/GirlsFrontline's'' divergence point from the real world timeline begins in the early 20th century when the Russian Empire discovers a buried alien ruin in the Siberian tundra. Their mining efforts to excavate the site inadvertently set off a reactor core in the ruin and causes the Tunguska event. Regardless, some alien relics are recovered and research into them continues even after the Bolshevik Revolution establishes the Soviet Union. While UsefulNotes/WorldWarII occurs mostly unchanged, it is during the UsefulNotes/ColdWar when additional alien ruins are found near Shanghai (including the body of an actual alien, code-named "GAVIRUL") where the game's setting goes into full-on AlternateHistory, with [[WeirdHistoricalWar the U.S. using alien tech in the Vietnam War and the Soviets doing the same in their invasion of Afghanistan]].
155	* In ''VideoGame/HonkaiImpact3rd'', Dr. Tesla protests her role in Tunguska, insisting it was "just an accident" and that she "tried her best to repair the damages". Exactly ''what'' she did [[NoodleIncident is still unclear]].
156	* In ''VideoGame/ImpossibleCreatures'', the Tunguska Event was actually the birth of the Sigma Technology; the machine that combines animals.
157	* In GameMod ''VideoGame/RedAlert3Paradox'', the event was a meteorite impact and research on its material left granted the Soviets their magnetic weaponry.
158	* The Chimera from the ''VideoGame/{{Resistance}}'' series crashed on Earth in the event, and dominated the isolated Russian Empire by the 1940s.
159	* In American timeline from ''VideoGame/OriginalWar'', they've sneaked their expedition to Siberia and retrieved bunch of artifacts from Tunguska. Among them is a cylindrical object, what will later turn out to be a quasi-TimeMachine, labelled EON. Once it is used, in the resulting new timeline, the Soviets send their own expedition to Tunguska as their did historically, to find what they will later label as TAWAR.
160	* In ''VideoGame/SecretFiles: Tunguska'', [[spoiler:the explosion was of alien origin, and its remains are used in research for mind-controlling machine]].
161	* ''Tunguska: Legend Of Faith'' for the [=PlayStation=] revolves around the player, an inter-dimensional traveler, investigating a series of supernatural events in Tunguska, after the meteor's impact. Said meteor's landing somehow caused assorted monsters and demons to infest the Tunguska countryside, led by one mysterious Order of Tunguska established after the incident.
162	* The Railjacks of ''VideoGame/{{Warframe}}'' come equipped with a WaveMotionGun whose main use is to take down enemy Crewships [[OneHitKill in a single shot]]. It is colloquially referred to as the "Forward Artillery", though its actual name is the Tunguska Cannon.
163	* ConversedTrope in ''VideoGame/XCOMEnemyUnknown''. The [[OperationBlank Project code]] for researching a powerful guided missile launcher using a miniature warhead based on alien tech? "Project Tunguska".
164	[[/folder]]
165
166	[[folder:Webcomics]]
167	* ''Webcomic/SchlockMercenary'''s UNS battleplates - the biggest, baddest, mobile space battle fortresses in the terrestrial fleet - were ostensibly designed to protect against asteroid impacts. They are named for places on Earth subjected to such impacts. The one that BigBad General Xinchub uses as a flagship for a while is named Tunguska, nicknamed "Gus" for purposes of interacting with the AI. It blew up ''good'' -- turns out horribly abusing gravitics to show off in the presence of dark matter aliens that dwarf even your impossibly immense ship and are annoyed by the use of gravitics is a ''bad'' idea.
168	* In ''WebComic/TheUnspeakableVaultOfDoom'' the Tunguska event was what happened when a bunch of cultists tried to summon [[PlayingWithFire Cthoogha]].
169	-->'''Cthoogha:''' Tunguska, my best gig ever on Earth.
170	[[/folder]]
171
172	[[folder:Web Original]]
173	* In ''Literature/MagicMetahumansMartiansAndMushroomCloudsAnAlternateColdWar'', the OSP (the Soviets' paranormal research agency) investigates Tunguska and discover that the blast was caused by an alien spaceship crashing in the region.
174	* In ''WebAnimation/OverlySarcasticProductions''' [[YoutuberApologyParody We're So Sorry]] video, Red apologises for causing the Tunguska Event, claiming that she thought plugging a power bar into itself would generate infinite electricity.
175	* The Website/SCPFoundation houses [[http://www.scp-wiki.net/scp-873 SCP-873]] which is believed to have either have gained its unusual properties on the night of the Event or to have been the ''cause'' of the Event. The exact connection remains unknown.
176	* In ''Literature/{{Zoofights}} 4'', the Tunguska Event was actually a Cthulhu-esque alien crashing to Earth. In Zoofights tradition, they welded a bunch of armor plates to it and gave it two assault cannons and a rocket launcher. Oh, and it's also obsessed with the Soviet National Anthem and goes berserk if the boombox that plays it 24-7 is turned off.
177	[[/folder]]
178
179	[[folder:Western Animation]]
180	* ''WesternAnimation/StevenUniverse'': In [[Recap/StevenUniverseS2E27ItCouldveBeenGreat "It Could've Been Great"]], Peridot shows Steven [[spoiler:the global plans of the Homeworld's colony.]] The [[https://i.imgur.com/dChUNBY.jpg map]] shows a giant rift forming an ocean where a large part of Russian Siberia should be, as an indication of the Gem war's effects with its AlternateHistory. The gem structure at the center of the ocean is right about where the Tunguska Event occurred. A map in the show's artbook labels the gem site as the [[PortalNetwork Galaxy Warp]] and the body of water as the "Tunguska Sea".
181	* In ''WesternAnimation/TeenTitans'', it was part of the origin of Red Star.
182	[[/folder]]
183

Context Main / TheTunguskaEvent